KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas
Almost Acoustic Christmas is an annual concert run by the Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM. Like the radio station's other festivals (including the Weenie Roast, LA Invasion and Epicenter), it is a festival organized by KROQ to raise money for a charity, and promotes a variety of rock music from the radio station's format, including alternative, indie, punk, pop, dance and hard rock/heavy metal.[1][2][3][4] Since its first show in 1989, the Acoustic Christmas has traditionally been held either the second or third weekend of December, with the exception of a three-year hiatus between 2019 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Rock, Metal, Punk, Post-hardcore, Ska, Alternative rock |
| Dates | mid-December |
| Location(s) | Universal Amphitheatre (1989–1997, 2000–2012) Shrine Auditorium (1998, 2013) |
| Years active | 1989–2019, 2022–present |
| Founded by | KROQ-FM |
| Website | KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas |
Overview
The festival's origins trace back to a December 1989 concert that was called the KROQ Xmas Bash.[1] By the mid-1990s, the festival had become bigger and attracted increasingly popular alternative rock bands and singers. The Almost Acoustic Christmas takes place over a weekend in mid-December, and has in recent years been broadcast for free on KROQ-FM's website.[5] The festival started off as a one-day event, and every year between 1992 and 2019 (with the exception of 1999, which was a one-day event), it was held as a two-day festival. Since its return in 2022 after a three-year hiatus, the Almost Acoustic Christmas has been held as a one-day event.
From 1989 through 2012 the show took place at the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, except for 1998 where it was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, and in 1999 where it was held at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. After the Universal Amphitheatre closed in September 2013, the show performed again at the Shrine Auditorium in December 2013. In 2014 the event was moved to Kia Forum (then-The Forum) in Inglewood. In 2019, the show took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim and returned to the Kia Forum in 2022.
KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas concerts benefit Para Los Ninos and the Al Wooten Jr Heritage Center, plus other local charities.
In 1999, a compilation of live recordings, The Best of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas, was released.
On December 18, 2009, KROQ-FM released a compilation called KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2009, a benefit album with proceeds benefiting Para Los Ninos and the Al Wooten Heritage Center.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas did not take place in 2020 and 2021.
KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas returned to the Kia Forum on December 10, 2022.
Line-ups
Bands listed in alphabetical order (or, if known, in reverse order of night's performance).
References
- "Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garbage and The Offspring lead KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2023 line-up". NME.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- "Ninth Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas". variety.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- "KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas". variety.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- "12 of the biggest acts and surprises to happen at KROQ's Annual Almost Acoustic Christmas". ocregister.com. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
- "The World Famous KROQ". Kroq.com. 2014-05-12. Retrieved 2014-05-19.